UN to send humanitarian assessment mission to Ethiopia's Somali regional state

The United Nations is sending a humanitarian mission tomorrow to Ethiopia's Somali Region, which has been affected by security operations, to assess relief needs, in particular access to food, water, health and nutrition services, and to monitor the dispatch and distribution of emergency food aid.

The Government of Ethiopia has agreed to facilitate the inter-agency mission at the UN's request.

“It is my hope that the findings of this assessment mission will construct a clearer picture of the humanitarian situation in the Region,” UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Fidele Sarassoro said today of the mission, which he will launch in Jijiga, the regional capital.

“Equally important to us is that the findings of this mission also support the delivery of assistance to the people of Somali Region,” he added.

The mission includes staff from the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Food Programme (WFP), World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Department of Safety and Security, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

The UN and other humanitarian actors have been supporting pastoral and agro-pastoral populations in the Somali Region with humanitarian and development assistance, particularly since 2000.